Residency in Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, 1987-1991

MD, University of Montreal, 1982-1987

Research Interests

During her basic research training, Dr Marisa Tucci participated in numerous research projects that aimed to characterize the nature of a distinct group of stress proteins called hypoxia-associated proteins as well as the study of nitric oxide (NO) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and their role in lung injury and tissue repair.

Since 2001, Dr Tucci’s research interests have focused mainly on topics related to applied clinical research. Dr Tucci has undertaken and participated in various studies in the field of transfusion medicine. She has been involved in various facets of research to specifically study the impact of red blood cell (RBC) unit storage time on the clinical outcome of critically ill children. Her work in recent years has involved the realization of studies that provided the preliminary data required to undertake an RCT on this issue, in vitro studies to assess the biochemical and immunological effect of prolonged storage on RBC units, generation of survey data to assess transfusion practices in pediatric hospitals in Canada and the US, and prospective epidemiological studies on the use of RBCs, platelets and plasma in critically ill children She has also been involved in research assessing transfusion complications and is currently a co-investigator in projects assessing development of post-transfusion Epstein-Barr Virus infection in stem cell transplant recipients as well as a plasma transfusion practices. She has participated in several National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) workshops and conferences to discuss scientific issues and to ascertain priorities in pediatric transfusion medicine. She is currently the principal investigator of a multicenter randomized international clinical trial, the Age of Blood in Children in Pediatric Intensive Care Units (ABC-PICU) study that is CIHR and NHLBI funded that aims to recruit 1538 critically ill children and whose main goal is to assess the impact of red blood cell storage time on their outcome.

Research Topics

Transfusion

Pediatric critical care

Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome

Applied clinical research

Awards and Distinctions

She has written 58 papers in peer-reviewed journal, 14 chapters, and more than 100 abstracts, posters and free papers. She has given 17 invited lectures, including several outside Canada and has received more than $12 million from academic granting agencies in the last 10 years.

Presentations

Tucci M, Karam O. Plasma transfusion practices. 8th World Congress on Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care to be held in Toronto, Canada, June 4-8, 2016.